river in France and Belgium, and a left tributary of the Scheldt
Key facts
- Country
- France , Belgium
- Location
- Pas-de-Calais
- Elevation
- 115 m (377 ft)
- Length
- 202 km (126 mi)
- Progression
- Scheldt → North Sea
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
The Lys ( French pronunciation: [lis] ) or Leie (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈlɛiə] ) is a river in France and Belgium, and a left-bank tributary of the Scheldt. Its source is in Pas-de-Calais, France, and it flows into the river Scheldt, with the confluence in the city of Ghent, Belgium. Its total length is 202 kilometres (126 mi).
Historically a very polluted river from the high population density and industrialisation in both Northern France and Belgium, it has seen substantial improvements in recent years, partly due to the decline of the principal industry, the spinning and weaving of flax. The region of the Leie (between Deinze and Ghent) was known as a favourite place for numerous painters in the first half of the 20th century.